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Surprising South Carolina beats second Top 25 opponent in four days
Snubbed on Selection Sunday despite 25 wins last March, South Carolina is determined not to leave any doubt about its NCAA tournament worthiness this season.
The Gamecocks took a big step toward that goal this week with back-to-back victories over Top 25 opponents.
On Wednesday, they shut down 25th-ranked Michigan’s high-powered offense and emerged with a 61-46 upset in Columbia. On Saturday, they followed that up with another strong defensive effort in a 64-50 neutral-court victory over 18th-ranked Syracuse.
South Carolina’s victories make it the only SEC team besides Kentucky not to have suffered a loss yet so far this season. The Gamecocks (6-0) should enter the AP Top 25 this week and could stay for awhile since they don’t face another major-conference opponent until Seton Hall on Dec. 12.
Such a strong start from South Carolina is a pleasant surprise considering the Gamecocks lost their top three big men to graduation this past spring. They were projected eighth in the SEC preseason poll and did not have a single player named first- or second-team preseason all league.
Defense has again been the key to South Carolina’s surprising ascension just like it was last season when the Gamecocks started 15-0 and won 11 SEC games before settling for an NIT bid. Opponents are shooting just over 25 percent from behind the arc against South Carolina and just 36 percent from inside it, both among the lowest marks in the nation.
Sophomore forward Chris Silva and freshman Maik Kotsar have done a credible job replacing the departed frontcourt stalwarts, however, South Carolina is nonetheless a guard-oriented team led by catalyst Sindarius Thornwell. Not only does the 6-foot-5 senior average a career-best 20.8 points per game so far this season, he also is scoring with vastly more efficiency than the previous three years when he shot less than 40 percent from the floor.
Thornwell has scored at least 16 points in all six of South Carolina’s games. He tallied 16 points on only six shots against Syracuse and torched Michigan for 21 on 8-for-12 shooting.
A year ago, South Carolina’s strong start seemed a bit fraudulent to the selection committee since Tulsa was the only NCAA tournament-bound non-conference opponent the Gamecocks beat.
There should be no such issues if South Carolina keeps winning this season. Non-conference victories over the Orange and Wolverines will provide the credibility they need.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
